The Oklahoma Bar Journal November 2022

F rom the E xecutive D irector

Creating the New Normal By John Morris Williams

T HIS YEAR, WE ARE fortunate to hold the Annual Meeting without having to attend to COVID-19 restrictions. However, after COVID-19, the world will never be the same. That is not nec essarily a bad thing. Just different. Many pre-pandemic prophets pre dicted online learning and virtual meetings would be the norm in the not-too-distant future. No date was set, but we were told it was coming. COVID-19 fast-forwarded us five to 10 years. While there were a few things to learn, the OBA mostly had this down and was well pre pared to make the change instanta neously in the spring of 2020. As we move to the “new nor mal,” having a virtual component to the Annual Meeting is just assumed. In 2020, more than 2,000 members attended some portion of the all-virtual Annual Meeting. It was good we were able to provide quality programming with the opportunity for everyone to attend. The new normal will require con sideration of technology in every thing we do. I believe the ability to accommodate members who could not otherwise attend is essential to good member services. Twenty-five percent of OBA members live out of state. That means we have more members living out of state than we do in Tulsa County. Having the ability and desire to provide ser vices to our members, regardless of location, is essential.

So what does that mean for the average OBA member? It means most OBA services will be sought out first online. There will be fewer in-person meetings. The utilization of almost entirely online services with the OBA means fewer staff contacts and personal relationships. On the other hand, a virtual bar association is 24/7/365, and mem bers can meet all their obligations to continue licensure at any time from anywhere. Staff will still be providing services and producing products. How they are obtained and utilized will be, in the not-too distant future, very customizable.

Another good thing in the new normal is that mobility allows par ticipation from anywhere. Mobile devices such as phones, tablets and iPads – when working through cell towers as opposed to the internet – can often deliver a better user expe rience. In addition to allowing par ticipation from anywhere, having these devices handy also provides a good backup if there is a distri bution of your internet connection. On more than one occasion, I have signed out of a virtual meeting and re-entered using my cell phone, getting a much better connection and overall improvement in sound quality. Either way, make sure you

58 | NOVEMBER 2022

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL